The influence of corruption: a South African case

Abstract

Purpose

A growing public concern among South African citizens is that of corruption in law enforcement, an awareness of which causes significant tension in the community – police relationship. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how law enforcement corruption influences service delivery satisfaction and public trust.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from the Victims of Crime Survey 2013/2014 for all nine provinces in South Africa were utilised, yielding a final sample of 25,605 respondents. By means of standard multiple-regression analysis, the study established that corruption statistically significantly influence service delivery satisfaction and public trust.

Findings

The demographic variables that statistically significantly influenced the aforementioned dependent variables were province, population group and age. Gender and religion were not found to influence law enforcement public trust and service delivery satisfaction significantly.

Research limitations/implications

It is recommended that the findings be used to stimulate public debate and renew efforts to curb law enforcement corruption specifically by emphasising police integrity.

Practical implications

Limited empirical evidence can be found on the influence of law enforcement corruption on service delivery satisfaction and public trust especially in South Africa where police corruption is a serious concern. Determining the consequences of perceived corruption underscore the importance thereof and will renew efforts to curb as such the prevalence thereof.

Social implications

The case study of South Africa could provide valuable lessons not only for South African policy makers but for other countries perilled by high crime rates, a lack of public trust and social segmentation.

Originality/value

Limited empirical evidence could be found on the influence of law enforcement corruption on service delivery satisfaction and public trust especially in South Africa where police corruption is a serious concern.

Citation

Jonck, P. and Swanepoel, E. (2016), "The influence of corruption: a South African case", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 39 No. 1, pp. 159-174. https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-06-2015-0076